Carbon offsets are becoming increasingly popular in western countries. They provide a no-effort way to neutralize parts of an unsustainable lifestyle that are difficult or impossible to change.

When you purchase offsets the organization who sold them will use that money to fund some activity that will reduce CO2 emissions by the same amount you were quoted. Popular activities are tree planting, investments in renewable energy and conservation, and recently methane capture. Investments in renewable energy would be similar to signing up with a clean energy provider. Your money would subsidize the generation of more expensive renewable energy.

There are various ways you can purchase offsets. A lot of recent marketing has been related to offsetting flights or cars, but you can also calculate what your total footprint is and purchase a bulk amount.

The price of offsets will vary but are normally in the range of $15-$20 per ton.

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